tv MSNBC Live MSNBC January 21, 2017 11:00am-12:01pm PST
11:00 am
[phone buzzing] some things are simply impossible to ignore. the strikingly designed lexus nx turbo and hybrid. the suv that dares to go beyond utility. this is the pursuit of perfection. hello, everyone. i'm joy reid. >> and i'm thomas roberts. and we're live here in washington on our first full day of the donald trump presidency. and it's a day that's inspired marches and rallies, mass crowds across the country. the biggest one, right here in washington, d.c. now, get this. 200,000 folks were expected to be here for the women's march on washington. we've got more than half a million people showing up. and also some news to break from the ap, joy. >> and according to organizers, take a look at the national mall and the crowd for yesterday's inauguration. let's take a look at that. do we have that?
11:01 am
because i think that is the pictures of today. that looks like pictures of the d.c. march today. and the estimate is that it is a half a million people, which would be, thomas, i think about twice what they got yesterday. the crowd in jig wchicago was s big that the police changed it from a march to rally. you have thousands of people taking to the streets in rome, london, australia, even in buenos aires, argentina. and reporters spanned out from los angeles to washington, covering it all happening today. >> let's start right away with cnbc's cal perry. cal, let's go with the late -- we're going to get to our cal perry in a second. just so we can get this news in right away about what they're saying here on the women's march in washington. so we had the massive turnout here. it's forced a change of plans. the ap is reporting with the entire plan route filled with these hundreds of thousands of folks, organizers can't lead the formal march toward the white house. so that's a big update.
11:02 am
just to remind folks, as well, the shots you're seeing here in d.c., we can't get great aerials from news choppers because there's seven miles of restricted space around this area, so other areas we're going to see like in d.c. or l.a., we're going to see those crowds and those aerial shots. here we've got static shots and can explain the fact that the officials say shortly before 1:00 p.m., people were standing along the entire route here in d.c. >> it's amazing. >> that's a look at l.a.. >> that's los angeles. >> and what's interesting, thomas. when i got here this morning or late last night, people were saying that yesterday, the traffic was a lot less than expected, a lot of drivers were saying the streets were a lot emptier than they thought, because there weren't that many people here. we got here this morning and there was already a huge line of people marched up down behind us. we're now talking about half a million people, which is actually a record. that would make this the largest protest march ever associated with an inauguration and one of the largest protest marches actually ever. >> no, it is really amazing to see how many folks are turning out. and this is the first day of
11:03 am
president trump's administration. and he has work to do, as we all watched him this morning go to church along with his vice president and the first family. cal perry is along the route here in d.c. and cal, has word started to spread about the fact that they're not going to be able to move, not march on the white house. >> reporter: yeah. and i'll show you why they're not going to be able to move. i'll have jim pan off, you can see, as far as the eye can see on independence avenue, it's packed. and as you mentioned, we're not able to get aerials. but from where i'm standing, i can't see the end of the crowd. and it is worth repeating, some of these people have been here since 6:00 in the morning. and a lot of people are looking to get marching, but there's nowhere to go. now, we've heard a number of speakers. michael moore got the crowd riled up about three hours ago, telling people to get out and vote. that they need to get out and vote. they need to organize. they need to run for public office. we just had a surprise performance from alicia keys. i believe that the speakers are starting to wrap up. they want to try to get these people moving, as you said,
11:04 am
thomas. they want to start marching, but there's nowhere to march. there are so many people. and the concern, i think, that the police have, as you see these barricades, people are just pressed up against the barricades. and it's not the national mall, where we saw the inauguration yesterday. this is independence avenue. so it's a narrower street. there's not as much public area. and i just -- i can't say this enough. the atmosphere here is very different than yesterday. this is a jovial atmosphere. people are talking about politics, they're bringing their kids and it is -- i mean, i was out on the national mall yesterday from 6:00 a.m. this is far more, double, maybe triple the amount of people we saw yesterday, thomas. >> and cal, i wanted to ask you real quick, i noticed a sea of pink. it seems to be the color of the march. everybody wearing these pink hats. and i know there's a significance to that. talk a little bit about the solidarity, the organizing of it, and some of the celebrities that are also here. >> reporter: there's a number of celebrities. and as you said, you can see the
11:05 am
sea of pink. it's mostly hats, but everybody seems to be wearing pink here today. look, the celebrity thing is fantastic. i ran into scarlett johansson, who tried to give me a pin. we just saw jake gyllenhaal. they're trying not to do interviews with the media, because they want people to focus who are speaking from the stage, but there are a number of celebrities here. one of the problems that the organizers have had, they've done a tremendous job of getting people out here, but one of the issues they're having is getting some of the speakers to the stage, of course, because there is not the same kind of security protocol that we saw yesterday. so the there's just a logistical difficulty in getting some of the people here who need to get here. it will be interesting to see, again, how people get out of here. >> all right. thank you very much. msnbc's cal perry. thomas, what's interesting, is some of the trump supporters, who were at least on my twitter feed, who were sort of upset about the reporting about the sparse crowds yesterday said maybe it was logistically difficult for people to get here. people got here. there were 1,200-some-odd bus
11:06 am
permits, people bussed in from out of state. this is a humongous, really an historic crowd. >> we know a lot of folks have traveled long distances and did a lot of planning to get here for today, as they did for yesterday's inaugural. the d.c. metro had put out a tweet about the ridership by 11:00 a.m. yesterday, about 193. they put out a tweet yesterday about saturday and by the fact at 11:00 a.m., it was eight times higher than it would normally be on a weekend. about 270,000 plus that came in this morning by 11:00 a.m. so we'll wait for another update from them. but joining joy and i on set is gene pierre, rick wade is adviser to both of barack obama's presidential campaigns and great to have you both with us. let's just start off, i reached out to sean spicer, the press secretary of donald trump. i have not heard back from him yet. we know that president trump is expected over at the cia. but, rick, let me begin with you. the amount of attention that has happened from day one, as seeing those executive orders of what
11:07 am
president trump did last night, how -- rick, standby for us. we've got john lewis speaking in atlanta, where they have gathered for the marches there. let's go ahead and listen in. >> sometime, you have to turn things upside down instead of right side up. when you see something that is not right n, not fair, not just you have a moral obligation, a mission, and a mandate to say something, to do something. we cannot afford to believe silent. now, i just want to thank you. you look so good. this is unbelievable. all the way back to the cm center. there's hundreds and thousands of people. i tell you!
11:08 am
thank you! i want to thank you for standing up, for speaking up, for getting in the way, for getting in trouble, good trouble, necessary troubl trouble. [ chanting: thank you john ] >> thank you. thank you. you're wonderful. >> you're wonderful, john! >> i tell you -- >> we love you! >> i love you, too. i love you so much. you will never know how much i love you. if it hadn't been for the people in this district, the people of the city, people not only in fullerton county, in the city of atlanta, but also clayton
11:09 am
county, dekalb county, city of decatur, east point, college park, cascade, old national, all over. i wouldn't be standing here today as a member of the house of representatives. thank you. [ applause ] now, as you know, there are people who have been using social media but i don't think you need to use social media. you use your feet. use your hand. i know we going to march in a few minutes. we going to pick 'em up and we're going to put 'em down. and we're going to send a message. i know something about march in.
11:10 am
i know something about marching, when i was much younger, had all of my hair and a few pounds lighter, i marched in nashville. i march in washington. i marched from selma to montgomery. i am ready to march again. i've come here to say to you. don't let anybody, anybody turn you around. and never, never ever give up. never lose hope. look, we're fighting for our sisters, for our mothers, for offer daughters. but we're also fighting for our brothers, for our sons, for those who are not able to stand up and fight for themselves. we have a moral obligation to fight, so never, ever lose hope!
11:11 am
you know, in my younger days, i got arrested and went to jail 40 times. since being in congress, another five times. and i may get arrested and go to jail again. now i come here just to say thank you. the letters, the telephone calls have been amazing. on monday, i go back to washington. and i tell you, being here in atlanta early this morning, seeing more than 500,000 people on the streets of washington, d.c., seeing people marching in boston, in new york, in l.a., san francisco, in chicago. seeing people marching around the world.
11:12 am
we cannot, we cannot and must not stop now. so i said to you, use this energy to organize, get people to register and vote. the next election, we must get out and vote like we never, ever voted before! the vote is precious! it's almost sacred. it is the most powerful non-violent instrument or tool we have in a democratic society. we must use it. there are some people in washington and around our country trying to take it away. we cannot let that happen. you know, i'm fired up! i'm fired up! i'm ready to march! i have on my marching shoes, i'm ready to march. let's do it! let's do it! okay. let's do it! [ cheers and applause ] >> all right.
11:13 am
so there we hear congressman john lewis there speaking at the rally in atlanta, making reference to those other sister rallies that are happening around the country today. we know that john lewis was with our colleague, chuck todd, and he said that he wasn't going to be coming to the inauguration. he felt that this was an illegitimate win for president trump. a myriad of other elected officials followed. >> something like 60, yeah. >> 60 elected members of congress on the democratic side. forgive me. although we had the, you know, democratic leadership showing up to be a part of that inaugural. rick, i think a lot of people who are watching this, and forgive me, we went to this and i didn't get to ask you that first question, but there are a lot of trump folks out there who are satisfied with the election result, who are seeing how democrats and people are responding and saying, wait a minute, this president hasn't even had a real chance to do anything yet. what are you demonstrating against? did barack obama face this when he was elected the first time? >> we've never seen this before. when barack obama was elected
11:14 am
the first time, and i was there, we saw an america that came together around not just barack obama, but the core values of hope and change. and, you know, that's what people came together around. what we're seeing today is absolutely just spectacular. john lewis has to feel really, really good today. because to a large extent, he's created what we're seeing today. and i don't live very far from here. and this feels reminiscent, and i wasn't born then, but it feels reminiscent of the 1960s, the spirit of this march. so this says something really, really big about where we are in america. we're a divided country. and the people are standing and marching today and they're sending a message to president donald trump and america that we're going to stand up, we're going to stand up collectively as one people, and hold him accountable. >> and kareem, lucky to be here with two obama alumni, three if
11:15 am
you count -- >> that's right. >> really involved in the campaign. it's interesting, you have this movement around barack obama that was unlike anything that we've ever seen, but elected the first black president. you're now seeing, as rick said, tremendous. this is not just in the united states, it's global. was there something about donald trump's speech yesterday that even accelerated this? this is twice or more the estimate of the crowd that we thought was coming. >> i think there was a couple of things. i think it was donald trump going after representative john lewis, right? and the democrats saying, hey, we're not -- we're not going to support you more than, you know, a couple dozen democrats doing that. and his speech yesterday was terrible! there was -- you are supposed to -- he's supposed to unify the country. he's supposed to reach across the aisle and say, hey, you know what, i know that i won, i know that people are really hurt and are fearful and are worried about my administration, but i'm going to bring you in. and it was incredibly divisive. it was a right-wing nationalism speech. it was very worrisome.
11:16 am
and i think, yes, i think that probably added to the feel. and here's what we have. we have marches going on in seven continents, including antarctica, 600 cities in this country. people who have never marched before are coming out today. and it says volumes. and i think what people are reacting to is trump. trump is absolutely a catalyst. and they want to stand against what trump stands for. but the i think there's also women's rights and lbgtq rights that the women's march is also -- immigrant rights that they're standing up for, as well. but, yes, i think he certainly did not help the matter. >> all right. so just to bring you up to speed on what we're watching here in washington, d.c. is hundreds of thousands of folks have come out today for the organized march here on washington, the women's march. they are not allowed to actually move now, because it has gotten so large. they can't sort of have that march down towards the white house. but there is official business by president trump today, as he is expected this hour over at the cia headquarters.
11:17 am
we know that mike pompeo is his cabinet pick, the congressman from kansas to be the new cia director. and joy, that fell short of happening on friday, yesterday. that will be taken up with a proper vote come monday, but it's really interesting to think about how donald trump raged against intelligence communities and now wants to go over to the cia to maybe extend right tone or message about what kind of president he is going to be when it comes to trusted institutions guiding him and the white house. >> and what's interesting, ron wyden, a democratic senator from oregon, pat leahy of vermont, and richard blumenthal of connecticut, who were part of holding up mike pompeo's nomination, we're going to get real appointed with parliamentary procedure in the next hundred days. democrats may be in the minority, but there are certain things they can do. ironically enough, that could mean that john brennan, with whom trump has been having a very public feud. you had john brennan going to the "wall street journal" and say, try telling all those
11:18 am
hard-working men and women who worked to secure our future every day that they are akin to nazis, which is what donald trump called them on his twitter feed. he may now have to continue to serve on as dronald trump's cia director, at least in the interim, until they can figure out how to get pompeo unstuck. >> we are still following all these different, really vivid scenes of folks who have taken to the streets across the country to participate in the women's march. and certainly you are going to recognize our next guest, as so many of us have grown up with her. sonia manzano participated in the march today. and sonia is known around the world as her emmy award-winning role as maria on "sesame street." it's great to have you with us, sonia. why did you want to be here today? and what's the spirit of the folks you've seen? >> well, i'm so happy to be here. it's very exciting, as you can imagine, after all my years on "sesame street," i've learned that children are very affected
11:19 am
by everything that they see on television, so i was very distressed that they were, of course, affected by what our pd has said, certainly making them fearful about being deported or being separated from their families in any way. but this event is so terrific. i really hope all the children out the there in america are watching this, because this is inspiring. and this will assuage some of their fears, i believe. >> and, sonia, first of all, it's such a treat to talk to you. of course, we all grew up with "sesame street." no one comforted big bird like you, like maria did. but, can you just talk a little bit about how you reacted when you heard that the trump administration may be looking to actually cut funding, not only to the nea, the national ebb dou endowment for the arts, but also the corporation for public broadcasting which gave us "sesame street". >> and it's such a small sliver
11:20 am
of the budget, the amount of money that goes to the corporation for public broadcasting. it just seems a mean-spirited action to take that's not really going to affect america. it's not going to make america great again, certainly not to have these funds for art in america. and so that -- that is very disappointing. and i hope that enough people complain about it and rise up and make sure that it doesn't happen. >> sonia, is it your feeling, though, that most of the people have turned out today, while folks who organized this march say it's truly not an anti-trump march, this is a pro-women's march, and there are all shapes and sizes, all genders participating today. but do you think the tone has shifted to an anti-trump march? >> i don't know that it's an anti-trump march. i was on the train yesterday and people were singing and women were singing "lean on me." and it was very hopeful. and cheerful. and i -- i think it's more that. it's more what we can do than
11:21 am
the negative things that we have been hearing for so long. >> and sonia, i know you traveled here with some school kids from new york city. i want to give you a chance very quickly to just tell us your impressions before question we let you go back to marching. >> you're going to give me a test? >> no, a chance, a chance! an opportunity. i know it's very loud. but you traveled in with some new york city school kids, i understand. do i have that right? >> yes. yes, i have -- i came with some friends who have some schoolkids and we've lost sight of each other. everybody's safe, but we have lost sight of each other, i'm afraid. >> well, thank you so much. it's so good to be with you. we'll let you go back and enjoy the march. thank you for being here. >> thank you so much. adios! gracias! >> adios! gracias! >> you're trying to give maria a test? >> no, a chance! my god, maria's probably giving
11:22 am
me an "f" right now. >> remember that "sesame street" and "the electric company." such great shows. learn how to sound out words. >> grover? cookie monster. >> oscar the grouch. >> well, oscar had some issues. probably could use more funding for his trash can. >> he may not get that. >> all right, let's go to our own beth fouhy. she is actually in chicago, which is the other march, thomas, that was so big that it was not allowed to march. it was turned into a rally, because it was so large. beth, give us the picture of what's going on there in chicago. >> reporter: hey, joy. i'm standing here on jackson boulevard in the loop area of downtown chicago. you can see way in the distance, the marchers have all gone down to what's called federal plaza here, to go finish up their march. but as you said, it wasn't really a march at all. it was such an enormous rally that everybody was just encouraged to sort of stand together, chant, be active, and march wherever they wanted to. the formal march did have to be
11:23 am
canceled. this has been an extraordinary day here in chicago. a march that was expected first to be 20,000 people, then 50,000, now organizers say it was up over 150,000, perhaps 200,000. probably the largest outside of washington, d.c. we saw just an enormous range of people, older, younger, men, women, moms and dads with their kids. lots of grandparents. we even have a few still here, stragglers, a bunch of young ladies here joining me right now. you're emma? >> i am, yes. >> you're here doing what in chicago? >> we're all here doing a service program called avoda. we all work together and work at different nonprofits around the city. >> tell me why you're here? what's it going to accomplish? >> i think for us, what we talked about in our house is how important, this really feels like a moment in history that we want to be present for. you know, as opposed to donald trump as we are, we're looking forward to this next period where people can come together and organize this.
11:24 am
i'm a community organizer. and for me, taking the 150 people that were here and hopefully having them do something next week and something the week after, having this not be something that is just for today. and i think being down here to be a part of it is just something that i couldn't miss. >> reporter: so you guys are millennials. lots of millennials weren't thrilled with hillary clinton. a lot of millennials stayed home and didn't vote or they might have voted for a third party candidate. so now we have donald trump as president. does this mean anything to you guys in terms of thinking about how you're going to look at elections in the future and what you're going to do? value voting? >> i think for myself, i know that myself and so many of our peers were really activated and became engaged in the political process with the 2008 or 2012 election of barack obama. and i think that potentially hillary clinton didn't capture that energy in the same way that barack obama did. i was a really ardent supporter of hillary clinton, but i know a lot of my peers who weren't. and i really think that millennials are looking for somebody who's authentic, who cares about the values that they care about, about progress, about change, more than
11:25 am
partisanship. and i think a candidate or a party who really is able to tap into the energy of progress is somebody that will be able to capture millennial votes. >> reporter: okay. there you have it. the voice of a millennial generation, one of hundreds of thousands of people here in chicago at this march today, thomas. >> all right. beth, thank you very much. our beth fouhy reporting there in chicago. and we do have new information about the movement of president trump in washington today. his press secretary, sean spicer, had confirmed via twitter earlier about the president going to visit the cia headquarters, about a crowd of 300 plus folks were going to be there to greet the president. and now we have confirmation that president trump is on the scene. >> that should be a very interesting conversation, to say the least. donald trump speaking with members of the cia. we do still have rick and kareem here. i'll ask each of you, when president obama came in, he was somebody who was not in washington, he had been a
11:26 am
senator for only a couple of years. talk a little bit at what donald trump in normal circumstances should be doing to try to get himself up to speed. because he doesn't even seem to be filling out his government fully yet. >> well, listen, before filling out his government, rather than visiting a cia, he should be visiting this crowd today. he should be talking to americans and talking to the world. joy, if i can -- i think this is -- this could be a defining moment for donald trump today. he can do today what we didn't do yesterday. and that is message to america about, there's something happening here and he can't afford to ignore it. >> yeah. >> you know, these are our american brothers and sisters and moms and grandmothers and children who are marching. and for him to ignore that is testament, unfortunately, to the kind of leader that he will be. there's something wrong with that. >> so just to interject, i have been checking the twitter feeds of both sean spicer. i've reached out to sean spicer,
11:27 am
to see if there is a reaction from president trump, a message, as risk is asking for, to these folks. i have not heard back from san, as of yet. but this has to get his attention. and there are questions that are being asked by certain folks that have taken to the stage, certainly here in d.c. that have questions about what a trump administration will look like. and rick, i reached out to the folks who are hosting the former president and first lady in palm springs, just to ask if they've turned on a tv set. i haven't heard back from them yet, but there seems to be some -- you know, the promise of obamacare, the unwinding of certain things that we've already witnessed happening on day one for president trump. how do you see that ramping up to follow through, especially on the front of obamacare? >> well, it's already happening. clearly, he's sent at directive already to his captive energies at health and human service toos to
11:28 am
go ahead and start unbundling obamacare. and he is a the guy who ran to help poor people and others. and he's already, through executive orders and actions, dismantling the very initiative that are supposed to help those who have been forgotten and those who have been left behind. and so the unfortunate part of about this is that we're beginning to already see the unraveling of president barack obama's legacy. and that's really, really, really sad. because that legacy was not just about barack and michelle obama, it was about america. and it was about doing good deeds and actions and initiatives to bring not only america together, but to help those who were disadvantaged and who were lost. though who had been in the shadows for so long. we did good work. and unfortunately, a lot of that work is being -- the other thing i'll say, ironically, one of the first actions of president obama, if you'll recall, was the lily ledbetter action, which was about equal pay for women. and we're watching now women march, because this entire legacy is being unraveled.
11:29 am
>> those are questions they certainly still have about equal pay for women and violence against women. those are topic areas we've heard today. >> well, michael flynn, who was the incoming national security adviser, his son had a message for american women in his twitter feed. he doesn't get why we're marching. he thinks everything is fine and doesn't understand what women want. do they want more free mani/pedis? hillary clinton has tweeted about thank you for standing and marching for our values. we're stronger together. would you anticipate michelle or barack obama weighing in? >> i know that the president tweeted yesterday, after he took off and said, hey, michelle and i are taking some type off. i moved over to my barack obama twitter account. he said, when we return, we're going to get back to work. i'm hoping that he gets back in there. and i don't think he's going to stand by, actually, and watch the repeal of all the great work
11:30 am
that he's done happen. i believe that he'll have a voice in this. michelle will as well. >> it's so easy to undo a legacy. they may think they can erase these things, but the accomplishments of barack obama happened and you can't make them unhappen. joining me now, emily tisch sussman, the campaign director for the center for american progress. emi emily, tell us what you hope comes out of today? >> i think we're already achieving a lot of what come out of today. the election may have not gone the way we wanted. we may be out of power when it comes to law making, but we are in power when it comes to the culture of this country, moving forward, people moving together and this is one of the most heartening events i've ever been to. it is so positive. and it is one of the nicest gathering i've ever seen in my
11:31 am
life. people are so happy to be here and feel like they're part of a community and feel like they're included. they feel like the soul of the country has been stolen away from them and to know they are not alone, they are part of a community. >> so, emily, this is thomas. the march was organized or given birth to the day after election. would you ever in your wildest imagination think this many folks would turn out? >> this is the thing an organizer's dreams are made out of. you can only hope to have something like this. but this is truly organic. it is an organic energy. and i think that trump is going in at historic lows of popularity. and it's not just that people didn't want to vote for them. they are wholeheartedly rejecting what he stands for and what he's been encouraging from his supporters. so, look, you could have never dreamed up something like this. you could have never imagined something of this magnitude. to be all over the world, to be in every state, it's just -- i mean, it's electrifying.
11:32 am
and it really gives me hope. look, i think we may be out of power, but as the mexican proverb says, they thought they could bury us, but they didn't know that we were seeds. and i think every person here feels that way. >> and we are looking at one of those pictures of d.c., one is new york. hopefully one of my producers can tell me which is which. new york on the left and d.c. on the right. i'll have to get better contacts. >> i wore my contacts today. >> technically, i did, too, but that doesn't mean they always work, necessarily. i'll call my eye doctor when i get back. emily, talk more about that global piece. you said it's the dream of an rger to have this much support, even in this country. have you communicated with some of the organizers overseas and what is prompting them? you know, this election didn't take place in ant aarctica or london, but they're marching too. do you have a sense of why? >> they are marching too. i think what happened in america is not unique, sadly. i think we saw it in england
11:33 am
with brexit. we've been seeing it all over europe. sort of isolationism and xenophobia. and that's something that a lot of people are just not comfortable with. the election of donald trump certainly is really, i'd say, the largest of these sorts of actions. and people all over the world do want to say that they rejected, as well. look, america is still a leader in the world. it happened at 9/11, when everyone fell silent for us. i think that sandy hook was something that people felt all over the world. and this election was, as well. people really do want to reject the kind of hate that his campaign represented. but it's not just about the negativity, it's also about the positivity. that we are positive -- we are a diverse country, we are proud of it. it's actually what makes us strong, not what tears us apart. and that people want to be part of that positivity together. and i think that's what -- it's really sprung up all over the world. >> i want to bet everybody here five bucks that president trump has seen your efforts by now and is aware of what's going on while he visits the cia
11:34 am
headquarters. what would you like to hear from him as they say you're more about positivity. if you have his attention, what do you want to say? >> reporter: wow, that's pretty big. and i have to imagine he did see it. the feeling in washington today is very, very different than it was yesterday. i would just want to say to him that, we're here! we are the fabric of this country. you don't have to make concessions to us, but we are the country. and we are the majority. so, please, keep that in mind when you're thinking about ripping people's health care away from them, ripping families apart and deporting the undocumented. keep us in mind, we are not a fringe, we are the country. >> and i can hear maxwell's, this woman's work. do you remember who sang that song originally? kate bush, late 1980s. also, can i borrow $5?
11:35 am
>> we will have to see how this goes. i've reached out to trump spicer to see if there is a reaction. >> sean, hook you up with a $5. >> you know, this is probably also another thing to remind people about, whitehouse.gov, they took down references to lbgt rights, health care reform, so folks are speculating about what that means over the next four years. they need to plug in certain information. certain information they were able to plug in right away. but we have to give them a chance, obviously, to have the time they need, as we know that there are many jobs, not just cabinet posts that aren't filled, but many jobs within this administration that they have not been able to find the right people for or to even get held over from the obama administration. but i think that a lot of people learning of that news and those changes that happened with whitehouse.gov might have been inspired to participate within the last 24 hours, to hustle
11:36 am
over to d.c. or to go to the city of their choice, where sister marches and rallies are taking place, to be a part of this. and as emily was also pointing out there, talking about the positivity. you know, she gets it. they might have lost, you know, in terms of who they wanted to see take the white house, but it doesn't mean that they've lost their voice. and they have to figure out how to use out moving forward in an organized fashion. she's probably going to be hot for a lot of people's campaigning coming up in two years, for her organization's skills, to run a congressional campaign for somebody. >> and that is the question of whether or not this passion gets translated into politics. this was obviously a huge galvanizing surge of energy among mostly women, but this same surgery of energy wasn't there to elect a woman president. and i think what sort of shook a lot of particularly young woman was the idea that you can't really organize and galvanize women in a sort of national way around the idea of having a woman be commander in chief. and by the way, on the issue of
11:37 am
lbgt rights, the trump administration apparently spended a lot of energy to get caitlyn jenner to come to one of these balls or someone in the trump camp did. so they're definitely looking to have the optics of being pro-lbgt rights, but would it have been that much more work to put something up on whitehouse.gov that makes their position on that and on women's rights clear? one wonders. >> we know that the response has been most of that material has been archived, moved over to under the obama administration, but it doesn't mean that those laws and rights don't exist this very moment more americans under a trump administration. our stephanie gosk is here in washington, d.c. and we're listening or at least hearing from our perch up here by the capitol, stephanie, the noise and activity. talk to us about the feeling from the people you have met with on the ground, who have heard the different speeches. is there any disappointment that folks, that there were just too many of them and they weren't
11:38 am
able to move toward the white house? >> reporter: you know, actually, thomas, a lot of people are just sort of going anyway. what you're seeing behind me right now is movement. and for the last four hours, you haven't been able to budge in this area. it's literally been shoulder to shoulder. yet an announcement came that a d.c. official said that the formal march itself couldn't take place because of the numbers, and someone came on the loudspeaker and said, actually, it can. turn around, go down the street, head to the washington monument. and so everyone did that. now it's hard to tell right now how much control the police have on this crowd. to be honest, i can't see any law enforcement at all around here. this is an enormous crowd and a very emotional one. the people they talked to, most of the people that i talked to, they aren't protesters. they've never protested before. they've come from all over the country, a lot of them with
11:39 am
their children, with their daughters. is they have a lot of different positions on a lot of different issues, but this is not surprisingly, a very liberal crowd of women and. you know, you've been talking about it today. the theme here has been unity. everyone who's gotten up has said something about unity. but honestly, from my perspective, what this puts a point on is how divided this country really is. thomas? >> stephanie gosk, out there in a very noisy crowd. as stephanie was pointing out, folks were able to figure out the planned route from marching might have been with twofold, but there's a way, you can figure it out with your iphone, if you want to continue on with the march. and get yourself to the white house. it's amazing to think how this is going to come to a crescendo today. and what is going to be that moment where folks start to dissipate in different cities around the country. and can it remain as positive
11:40 am
and peaceful as we have seen over the last several hours of the unification that's been demonstrated today. >> it's a very happy crowd. but i do think back to -- you think about during the nixon administration, think about richard nixon, some holdup in the white house watching these massive anti-war rallies happening. you can't wall yourself off from it. donald trump could just mainline fox news today and try to absorb himself in only adulation of this has inaugural and pretend it's not happening. it's hard to believe that someone who's on social media as much as he isn't going to realize this is happening. that means he's going to react. what if donald trump compounds having attacked john lewis with attacking this? >> well, here's what i will say. i think there should be a call to action, right? when it comes to, after this march. and the call to action, i believe, should be, you guys should go and run. folks should go out there and run for office. that's one way to really send a message. if you think back to 2009, 2010, with the tea party and how they got started, right, it was based
11:41 am
on racism, let's be clear there, and what they ended up doing is they started running. they started running in 2010 during the midterms and all of a sudden you saw an influx of tea party people in the capitol, on the hill. and i would say, hey, we should get these young people that we were just talking to, a bunch of millennials here, they need to have a call to action to run for office. i really believe that. >> and actually vote in the midterm elections. >> you might want to march yourself to the polls if you care about these issues. just a thought. randi weingarten is the president of the american federation of teachers. she spoke earlier today at the march. randi, let's talk a little bit about, number one, your thoughts on the march. but i want to ask you about betsy devos. she is somebody who really fired up our social media mentions here, around here, a lot of us are filled with betsy devos thoughts from our social media followers. what do you make of that
11:42 am
nomination and will this march change anything? >> you know, hopefully it will change things. and i think for anybody who's not in washington, or at any of the other 633 marches around the count country, they are missing a very important moment here. people are woke, as kids say these days. there's a sense that we must do something about opportunity, about ensuring there is a freedom that frankly a lot of people have taken for granted in the last four to eight years. so i think what you're seeing here is a passion to act for our freedoms and to act for dignity and respect, and to tact to ensure that everybody has an opportunity for the american dream. whether they are islam, whether
11:43 am
they are immigrant, jewish, christian, girls, boy, women, men, whether they are black, whether they are brown. that's what you're hearing here. there is the connection here. and it is about love and about working together in the fabric of what makes america great. that's what you're seeing. and it's overwhelming and i think it overwhelmed the organizers, how many people were here in washington today. and it is far, far greater in terms of numbers and passion. the hate that we heard yesterday, frankly, and the division, frankly, at the inauguration. and i think the devos nomination is just an indication of this. betsy devos is about division in public education. not about rolling up her sleeves to help it. in fact, that's what she did in
11:44 am
michigan. and what happened is, it has hurt opportunities for children, whether they go to public schools or go to the schools that she so pushed for private charter schools, which are actually doing worse than the public schools in michigan. and frankly, that's why people in detroit are very angry at her. don't ever want to see her. because what has happened is that the charters that she has pushed for are unaccountable and have done worse for kids. >> michael moore, one of the names of many people who spoke there today brought her up and specifically some of her past actions. take a listen. >> i want you to call congress every single day. on monday, call them and tell your senators and you can get them at the same number, we do not accept betsy devos as our
11:45 am
secretary of education! >> so there we have michael moore. we know, he knows michigan really well. >> very well. >> and knows about her track record. but randi, what are teachers and people saying to you about the vision? and also about the testimony that she was able to give during some of those earlier senate hearings? >> well, look -- i mean, anybody who listened to the testimony saw that she was unqualified and unprepared. you know, people, regardless of what they feel in terms of their education philosophy, it is such -- such hypocrisy. it is so undermining of children, if you put somebody into education, who doesn't know education. would you put somebody into an airline to be a pilot, who doesn't know how to fly a plane? would you put a doctor or would you put somebody into medicine who doesn't know anything about
11:46 am
medicine? and what she proved that day is that she has one idea, which is to dismantle public education, to take kids out of public education, and to actually have private alternatives. and frankly, when you look at that idea, it has not worked in michigan. in fact, what it has done is hurt kids. but the other thing is, she's done a whole bunch of other things, for-profit, such as pushing for emergency management, pushing to actually have boxed water that's been sold in flint after she pushed for the emergency management system that poisoned the water in flint, that bankrupted the schools in detroit. so there is a long track record that is much more about making a profit and creating privatization and division than about rolling up your sleeves and strengthening outcomes for each and every child in america. that's what we should all be about, whether we're republican or democrat, whether we're
11:47 am
rural, suburban, or urban, we should be about how to help every child succeed in a country that's really changing economically. >> randi weingarten of the american federation of teachers, thank you very much. really appreciate you being here. i want to give you guys a little bit of an update on some of the crowd sizes outside of here in d.c., what apparently it is about 500,000 strong. according to the st. paul pioneer press, there are about 50,000 to 60,000 people marching, thomas, in st. paul, minnesota. organizers, they thought they were going to get 20,000. "denver post," my former hometown paper is saying that the denver rally, over 100,000 people. wcvb in boston says more than 125,000 people. organizers thought they were going to get 80,000 people. and half a million people here. and of course, there's a massive crowd in new york. and it's conceivable that well over a million people are rallying across america today. wow, wow, wow, wow. >> i know we've had a lot of tweets of people asking us to
11:48 am
try to figure out how many folks collectively between all these different cities, these sister cities that are having rallies and marches have turned out. we're working on scrambling that math for you. but that gives you a good idea right there. we know that nbc's morgan radford is a part of a group of folks that are marching up fifth avenue, toward trump tower. this is the new york city march. and morgan, my iphone died. and i was going to read you a text from an actress who sent me a text saying, she is in there, in that group, and that she was told by a police officer, who's very respectful, that they all look beautiful, and keep marching! >> apparently chuck schumer is out there somewhere. >> schumer is out there, but we can see, the destination, morgan, is to end up in front of trump tower, correct? >> reporter: right. in fact, we're about a block away, but they're blocking off the entrance directly in front of the building, so we can only get this far up.
11:49 am
but this is already, thomas, joy, this is a much larger crowd than even officials expected. this was expected to be along second avenue and we're already stretching over to lexington -- >> morgan, hold on for one second. >> morgan, we have to go back here to d.c. where madonna has now taken to the stage of the women's march here. >> -- we have all slipped into a false sense of comfort that justice would prevail and that good would win in the end. well, good did not win this election, but good will win in the end. so what today means is that we are far from the end. today marks the beginning. the beginning of our story.
11:50 am
the revolution starts here. the fight for the right to be free, to be who we are, to be equal. let's march together through this darkness and with each step, know that we are not afraid. that we are not alone, that we will not back down. that there is power in our unity and that no opposing force stands a chance in the face of true solidarity.
11:51 am
and to our detractors who insist that this march will never add up to anything, f you. f you. it is the beginning -- >> all right, so we apologize, live television. there might have been a moment there where your ears could have been shocked. but also might have been a moment there where your ears liked it. so we'll leave it up to you to decide. but we were listening to madonna, and you never know what the material girl may do. >> she did also say something positive, that won't shock the -- well, we are on cable. >> you do it. >> she said, welcome to the revolution of love, to the rebellion, to our refusal as
11:52 am
women to accept this new age of tyranny, and then the cussing. >> okay. but before the cussing, she said that. >> and it's madonna. it's madonna. and she takes some liberties where she can. and i'm sure it was well received, among folks here. we can actually go back, and we're going to listen to this really closely. so if we jump out of it, you know she has cussed. so, really listen. >> -- a lot about blowing up the white house. but i know that this won't change anything. we cannot fall into despair that this won't change anything. we cannot fall into despair, as the poet w.h. otten once wrote
11:53 am
on the eve of world war ii, we must one love another or die. i choose love. are you with me?! say this with me! we choose love! >> we choose love. >> we choose love! >> we choose love! >> we choose love! >> all right. so this leave s me very beautifully into this song that i hope some of you know. are you ready? yeah? please feel free to sing along. it will keep you warm. it will make me happy. come on, girls! do you believe in love? cause i got something to say
11:54 am
about it and it goes a little bit something like this? ♪ put your love to the test ♪ you don't need diamond rings or 18 karat gold ♪ ♪ fancy cars that go very fast ♪ you know they never last, no no ♪ ♪ what you need is a big strong hand to lift you to your higher ground ♪ ♪ make you feel like a queen on a throne ♪ ♪ make him love you till you can't come down ♪ ♪ don't go for second best,
11:55 am
baby ♪ ♪ put your love to the test ♪ you know, you know you've got to make him express how he feels and maybe ♪ ♪ then you'll know your love is real ♪ ♪ long stem roses are the way to your heart ♪ ♪ but he needs to start with your head ♪ ♪ satin sheets are very romantic ♪ ♪ what happens when you're not in bed ♪ ♪ you deserve the best in life ♪ so if the time isn't right then move on ♪ ♪ second best is never ♪ you'll do much better, baby, on your own ♪ ♪ don't go for second best, baby ♪ ♪ put your love to the test ♪ make him express how he feels
11:56 am
and maybe then you'll know your love is real ♪ ♪ express yourself ♪ you've got to make him express yourself ♪ ♪ hey, hey, hey, hey i can't hear you! ♪ so if you want it right now, make him show you how ♪ ♪ express what he's got, oh, baby, ready or not ♪ ♪ express yourself so you can respect yourself ♪ ♪ hey, hey ♪ so if you want it right now, better make him show you how ♪ ♪ express what he's got, oh, baby, ready or not ♪ >> ready or not? >> all right! well, i guess our mikes are back open again. that was madonna, everybody, her '80s classic, all of us on set were singing -- >> hope they didn't come back
11:57 am
too soon. >> they might have heard our song styling. >> you have a good voice. >> you have a beautiful voice. >> i'm tone deaf. >> reach out and express yourself. >> you can by my backup singer. >> did the hey hey part. >> let's go back to madonna. here she is. >> can you handle it? do you have the energy for it? this next song, i can't even say his name, this song is dedicated dot new d.t. in the white house. boo. okay. d. could stand for dick. >> that's a -- >> okay, so we're listening to madonna and apologize for that. now, she could have been talking
11:58 am
about a guy name richard, but we know she wasn't. >> she could have. she might sing a game. >> or cuss again! or say a lot of other colorful words for cable. >> we would like to go back and listen and hear the next song, but we're kind of trepidatious. >> as we're looking at these rallies and marches that are taking place, we see dancing taking place in the right-hand of the screen in sacramento. >> something's going on in the upper right-hand corner there. >> i think they're an organized dance troop. >> it looks like panic to me. >> it seems as if it's an organize ids dance troupe. >> as we've all been listening to madonna, a little afraid there on tv. >> a full shot. even your contacts can see -- >> i'm squinting. i can see it now. >> so we've got our jacob soboroff, who is standing by
11:59 am
live for us. jacob is in downtown los angeles. explain the scene you've seen there. obviously, it's much earlier in the day. folks can come out and be a part of this as they're witnessing what's taking place on the east coast going west. >> i was in washington, d.c. yesterday. i got back here to my hometown of los angeles. the mood hear today is much more boisterous than the mood yesterday on the national mall for the inauguration. i'm at the intersection of fifth street and olive, down by persian square in downtown los angeles. this is the center of downtown los angeles. as i said earlier to kristen welker, on the air. los angeles is known for being apathetic, but these are not apathetic people. i want to give you a full 360 view. it's a sea of humanity. all the way up this way, towards the 101 freeway, you see everyone. check this out! this woman right here said, i came 8,000 miles to march. where did you come from? >> i came from australia. all the way from australia to march here. >> i booked to come for the
12:00 pm
inauguration, but this is what happened. >> what made you change your mind? maybe an obvious question. >> it was called for, i think. >> joy, thomas, come with me. you look down this way, all the way on fifth street here in downtown los angeles, and as far as the hh c see, i was here in los angeles in 2005 or 2006, when there was a massive immigration march going on here. some reports at the time said there were a million people. the vibe here today, i can't give you a crowd count, but i have seen some shots from the air. feels a lot like that march. of course, california provided much of that popular vote victory for hillary clinton in the election, back in november, around 3 million votes. she beat donald trump by -- i think she won by over a million votes here in the great state of california. let's take a little bit of a walk. we're connected to a cable here, so i want to be careful. excuse me, sir. let's see if i can bring some of these folks in. hi, how are you? you said you're marching for kids. we're live on msnbc. why are you say you're marching for kids? >> i would like to have a good
166 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC West Television Archive Television Archive News Search Service The Chin Grimes TV News ArchiveUploaded by TV Archive on